Why Americans Hate Each Other Now

[@WisecrackEDU]

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[@oscaradame3463]

America is not a country. It is a continent... Using "america" just for the states is exclusionary. An imperialistic term in order to errase the exiestance, invisibilize, more than a billion people. If you want to fight fascism... start with your language and the way you talk about yourself and your country. You ARE NOT America. America is much more...

[@maxsonthonax1020]

"In case you don't kkow what that is..." 😅 Sheesh. Just don't take the low-hanging fruit. Get some real sponsors, guys.

[@LuisSierra42]

I thought you were going to be more balanced in this video, instead you continued vilifying the republicans, going directly against what the video was about even though you started showing how it is mainly the left who are in a deranged state but they go mostly blameless

[@mjlegacki]

In the future if you reference the works/books by scholars could you put the references and resources in the show notes?

[@oscaradame3463]

@@LuisSierra42 the worst thing is that they think they are fighting "fascism" while using a fascist term... America is not just the USA. America is a hundred countries more, with millions of different identities.

[@Reliken]

Winner-take-all electoral systems polarize communities. They exacerbate tensions and pit us against each other into an us-vs-them mindset. The US today looks a lot like 1960s Northern Ireland, right before they entered three decades of sustained and deadly political violence. They largely resolved these tensions by changing their electoral system away from a winner-take-all system and to a system of "proportional representation" where all communities can win some representation in government, not just the biggest community. We should learn from them! There's a new podcast that explores this Irish history and US parallels called The Future of Our Former Democracy, folks should check it out!

[@hungrybraineater2]

I live in Chicago and the sectarian and ethnic divides sound exactly like belfast. Seen interviews of Ulster men and provo's word for word they could be gang members in Chicago. Every Chicagoan has a map in their head which neighborhood you dont go to. Only thing missing is peace walls and Saracen armor cars rolling around and bad folk music.

[@justtiredthings]

This sounds like an interesting series-- I'm going to check it out!

[@davidknightx]

Not a bad idea at all.

[@wmd13194]

From what I've observed there's only one side that is fanning the flames instead of trying to be understanding. Many ppl can understand why ppl voted for Harris and if u say u voted for Trump they act like u shoot ppl

[@Mpl3564]

We're witnessing increased hate here in Europe, too, despite not having such electoral system.

[@Stephanie-le4dy]

For the first time Trump was elected, I did exactly what you were suggesting Wisecrack, and tried to see beyond the hateful views they supported. It took time, and it was hard, because I am the only liberal among my conservative and religious family. For the past eight-ish years I would tell myself that preserving my family ties was worth it despite the things they said and what they stood for. But with this most recent election, I decided I can’t stand it anymore. This election is going to have more consequence on my life and the lives of the people I care about, and their support for the right is just a thinly veiled justification to openly hate the marginalized. It’s no longer a difference of political opinion, and they aren’t attempting to see our side. I’ve given up meeting my blood family halfway, and instead I’m going to be there for my own chosen family with the people who are going to need it during this election.

[@fj81191]

We're in a very special time when it is brave to be a good person. Not to mention a minority position. This video was informative but the moral of urging unity was insulting to me. I would have felt more compassion if it were about misinformation.

[@stevenruyf4044]

I can't imagine a life that is so partisan and self indulgent that remote politics is more important than immediate family. Freaking out over an election today is just as dumb as doing it in 2016 or 2012 or 2008 or 2004 or 2000 or... If you feel like every president is the next German mustache man, you're just the non binary individual of unspecified age who cried wolf.

[@djadelaney]

​@@fj81191it has always been brave to be a good person

[@Stephanie-rn7ry]

It's hard to "see the other side" when one party wants to strip people of their rights. It's one thing to reconcile over different tastes in music but a whole other thing for politics (i.e., people's core beliefs).

[@stevenruyf4044]

@@Stephanie-rn7ry considering the last administration wanted to end bodily autonomy with forced vaccinations, hated religious liberty and conscience, actively used the FBI and judiciary to prosecute political opponents, and enthusiastically abandoned whole cities to environmental disasters, it's a tough sell to claim the guys trying to strip away rights aren't the ones leaving in January.

[@willstrickland9952]

They voted Trump and told me it was because of Groceries. They keep saying that.

[@DizzyBusy]

By doing that, they also voted against women's rights. So...affordable food is extremely important, when they can't stop having children, isn't it.

[@zoeb3573]

They're either lying or dumb. Cheap groceries is a goal, not something that just happens because you decide to make stuff cheaper.

[@severedghost]

They voted Trump and told me it was because they hated Obamacare but love the ACA.

[@WayOfTheZombie]

Idiocracy

[@macrussell78]

I kept hearing gas prices were too high. Equally asinine.

[@Scynix]

Agree to disagree applies to taste, not human rights.. Congress is fighting over bathrooms ffs.

[@PrincessPotion]

Yeah...when my rights are up for debate, "agree to disagree" doesn't really cut it

[@anthonydelfino6171]

exactly I'm willing to have all sorts of arguments about the role of government, free markets, tax policy, foreign policy... but if you voted for Trump, you voted for cruelty against your fellow humans, and I don't have to be nice to you. I don't have to find a middle ground, and I have every right to cut you out of my life. It's a cruel reality my family is facing now that they've voted for Trump for their third election in a row despite having two gay children

[@Yellow.1844]

Human rights are man made, no one is born with Rights since there is no God. I know its crazy but not everyone agrees with you

[@DarkPesco]

No, no...listen to this man! Whether or not to let women die is an innocent matter of opinion...like which is your favorite rock band! (Said with HEAVY sarcasm! This video felt like he was auditioning for MAGA!)

[@lordmew5]

There is no such thing as a human right. Human rights are a lie rich and powerful people use to keep you complacent. Yelling human rights at everyone isn't an argument, and why people are taking you less and less seriously.

[@Jedidiah_McCain]

Don’t get me wrong, Wisecrack. This is another great video from you guys signaling for empathy and understanding. And there’s a place for that. Most places, if you think about it. But it’s going to take a bit, for me anyways, to forgive a bunch of people concerned over grocery prices turning up their noses at a political candidate who had an 85-page plan to turn things around, and rallied around a guy who said about the same issue, and I quote, “I have concepts of a plan.”.

[@JL0ndon]

It’s not even that he didn’t have a plan, he had a 950 page plan that he lied about and tried to disavow. But then after winning he’s using that 950 page plan as his outline. So many ppl who voted for him wouldn’t even acknowledge project 2025 and still voted for him

[@oscaradame3463]

There could not be emphaty and understanding when they are literally using an exclusionary term that invisibilizes the existence of 1 billion persons in its title. Just another imperialistical channel.

[@madisonashton1750]

I’m fully with you, empathy and education are so important but speaking as a person from a very red part of Texas who is a leftist. Sometimes people just are stupid, ignorant, some parts of the population lack fair levels of empathy especially if the people there beliefs harm aren’t right in front of them. I love calls for more empathy but when are leftists and democrats going to realize. The people around me don’t want to learn don’t want to know what’s true and basically plug their ears even when you explain in a very calm friendly manner.

[@Dave_of_Mordor]

I voted for that guy

[@PaperySloth]

​@@oscaradame3463dog, nobody cares..

[@moonlitmortician6694]

Honestly, I’m just tired of constantly letting Trump supporters slide. Every time he does something terrible and they keep supporting him, we’re always expected to either bury the hatchet or someone empathize with them, reach out, and do something to make them see the “error or your way. “Meanwhile, they don’t have the same obligation to change. We have to treat them like whiny children, like we’re responsible for getting them to behave. Like it’s our fault they keep electing this man because we didn’t get trough to them. I’m sick of it. I’m sick of letting them off the hook time and time again when they’ll never extend that same effort. There’s gotta be some consequences. Maybe not “poisoned water” but just something.

[@qjames0077]

@moonlitmortician6694 "They" is now a majority of the country. I would encourage you to explore why so many people voted not for Trump but for change. Biden, for example, has a long history of racism. This is a man that was propped up by the proportedly progressive party. And while I am a registered Democrat, I completely understand why so many dems have shifted right. Neoliberals are more concerned about appearances anymore rather than putting the work in. It's disappointing.

[@obscuremusictabs5927]

@@qjames0077if you think that’s bad wait til how bad little donnie’s going to goof things up. he’s already off to a terrible start

[@qjames0077]

@obscuremusictabs5927 same rhetoric as 2016.

[@LouKessler]

Congrats on the entering the Paranoid-Schizoid position!

[@moonlitmortician6694]

⁠​⁠@@qjames0077Okay, dude, we have been doing that for the past eight years. It’s generally the result of the growing disconnection Washington insiders have shown with working class problems. For example, doing practically nothing to address the worsening standard of life for a majority of American’s. Or in the case or Dems turning red, generally frustration at the parties lack of interest in doing anything progressive, from environment policies to civil rights issues. But mainly, it’s the economy which many people feel was better under Trump, despite most economists believing it was Obama era monetary policies that results in Trump’s relative economic stability. That and a massive right wing media apparatus slowly seeping far right talking points into main stream discourse, shifting the Overton window far into the right. But I’m gonna dump that all in the “So What?” bucket because no part of that justifies voting for an actual facists who has openly and proudly promised to do terrible shit. Voting for this man because your frustrated is just childish because HE WILL NOT MAKE ANYTHING BETTER. Obviously. So swallow your feelings for two seconds, plug up your nose, and don’t elect the man advocating for ethnic cleansing and stripping my marriage rights! Like an adult!

[@NumeroSystem]

It's reality vs. delusion, and reality should not compromise with delusion. One side puts forth a good faith effort to understand the world, through data, observation, and morality. The other side filters reality through a 2000 year old fictional mythology. These two groups do not mix.

[@morantNO1]

@@NumeroSystem You like to tell yourself that, but in fact atheists have as much blind faith in there not being a God as you accuse the theists of. A ton of very influential scientists were stern believers in a higher power. Science and belief are not contradicting.

[@NumeroSystem]

@@morantNO1 There is no non-religious "bible" used by the non-religious to filter reality.

[@jyripeltola6677]

@@morantNO1 I am agnostic, the only thing I have faith in, is the fact that human mind is very limited and we can not know if there is a god/gods before death. I'm very interested in religion, I've studied it, but I think its unlikely, but not impossible, I still would like to think that my loved ones who have died still exist in some form outside of my memories.

[@morantNO1]

@@NumeroSystem What's the point? There is not a manifest. There needs to be none for the one core tenant that there can be nothing beyond science that is true.

[@morantNO1]

@jyripeltola6677 I applaud you for your openness and reason. Sadly, there are many people who are unlike you straight up hostile towards the idea of the existence of a God.

[@SwagbitoUchiha]

Gee, maybe it’s because they sold my future for flimsy promises of slightly cheaper groceries

[@KaizenisMajestic22]

Bro doesn't know what tariffs are good luck hope you get what you wished for and tax for the rich crazy how Americans will sacrifice morals and basic human rights for cheaper economy and groceries when that won't be at all kamala had better plans for poor and middle

[@MisterCynic18]

They're stupid and didn't even realize what they were selling. I feel like what people really are struggling to cope with is that large swathes of humanity are just not very discerning or smart, never have been, and likely never will be. This includes friends, family, and probably yourself too. Humanity is deeply imperfect, and not in the motivational "always strive for improvement" way. We're just fucked.

[@Kataquan]

They're not even getting cheaper groceries lmao

[@billyhunter144]

Womp womp

[@christophercombs7561]

You are aware you have agency right noones future has been sold anywhere make better decisions and be responsible for your onw actions stop blaming others for your terrible choices its really that easy

[@WisecrackEDU]

Don't normally do this but wanted to respond to some things I'm seeing lots of comments about. The aim of this video was to use a particular psychoanalytic framework (the paranoid-schizoid and depressive positions outlined by Melanie Klein) to better understand the origins of the moral bifurcation (and/or black and white thinking) we see in American culture. For example, in the video, we talk about how things like colonization and slavery were justified by this logic, as folks were able to say "we're ALL GOOD and those people are ALL BAD so it's actually cool that we dehumanize them and/or take their land." A similar logic happens in fascism and nationalism, where the "us vs them" paradigm leads to some very dark things. And by attempting to understand the psychology underneath this phenomenon, we're interested in how to avoid these horrific instances of black and white thinking. The aim of the video was in no way to say "actually racists and fascists are cool if you just sit down with them." We were doing a type of structural analysis here, not looking at individual relationships as such (though we did use those as analogies to help get into the heavier stuff.) If folks have more questions happy to talk about it! -Michael

[@justwanttoviewvideo]

look dude, I am going to rewatch the video, but I have been trying to understand these people all of my life . I live in rual Texas where some of my closest friends to this day wish we had a president like Putin, and the only way to maintain these relationships is by not talking to them. Most of them men in my life regardless of party are to some degree racist, homophobic ,sexsist ,transphobic. I am tired, I am almost 40 and I am a transwoman. All of my family are hard core conservitves what more do you want me to put up with

[@aleckazamproductions8139]

Everyone has villainized the opponent and have nurtured themselves with a victim mentality. Doomed is what I think you meant to say in this video.

[@kirkwhite1736]

But that is what has been implied in this video. Even though I have actual sympathy for some members of the MAGA Cult, I cannot find empathy for those who are about to hurt all of us and destroy Democracy for a few more pennies. Nor I cannot find empathy for those who we choose to stand up and defend those who cannot be defended, the Democratic Party, only to join in and suppress us as well. The election has made more people individualistic and isolated because no one can trust anyone. This is Fascism. This is Capitalism.

[@MisterCynic18]

@@WisecrackEDU that so many have missed the point seems like pretty damning evidence of how far gone we are.

[@joebrianschell]

Probably shouldn't have started the video comparing voting for fascism with not liking the Grateful Dead

[@Dachusblot]

Relevant Orwell quote on the psychology of colonization and how it oppresses the oppressor: "I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys. He becomes a sort of hollow, posing dummy, the conventionalized figure of a sahib. For it is the condition of his rule that he shall spend his life in trying to impress the 'natives,' and so in every crisis he has got to do what the 'natives' expect of him. He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it." ("Shooting an Elephant") In other words, "strong good, weakness bad" and a constant pressure to live up to the image of a "sahib," until you finally lose your own humanity and become the mask. All out of fear of losing dominance over the oppressed Other.

[@saint037]

still a better life than being oppressed

[@Dachusblot]

@@saint037 I mean yeah, I think that goes without saying. But still worth saying anyway.

[@Tormekia]

At some point it's not about which reality a person is living in. It's about which reality they want everyone else to live in. I'm a have fun and harm none sort. Serve others and be decent. But I draw the line at excusing abuse and cruelty. There is a deep vein of nastiness with modern conservatives. It's not about protecting the old ways anymore. It's about punishment and humiliation. And I just don't abide that. I don't go out of my way to reject people. But if I find out that's their base view of things, I just let the connection fade. Life is short. Support those who do not put gates around compassion. We can choose who to support. Why should the one who wishes to erase another get the same support as the one they are trying to erase? IMHO that's why they're assholes to begin with. Like spoiled children who get what they want no matter how badly they behave. Nope!

[@hugh261]

I recognize that the things that I judge as being an asshole are built on an attempt to feel safe, in the person running that dynamic. I hold the gate to compassion open (the compassionate thing to do) by staying present and compassionate, while not acting enabling. It's been a more challenging position to develop, but I'm building a relationship with my brother again through it. He gets to experience compassion rather than anti-compassion and feels a kind of safety that is unavailable in the orientation of anti-compassion. The changes keep coming.

[@madisonashton1750]

@@hugh261I love that for you but for me and many others no about of love or logic could ever change the people in our lives that hold prejudice in their heart. Speaking as a person who lives in a very red part of Texas.

[@125loopy]

They always wanted to protect the "old ways" The old way is white supremacy. The 20th century, where white men were in charge and others knew their place is what they've always wanted.

[@garrettsattem4799]

That’s funny, because that deep vein of nastiness you described sounds a lot like the temperaments of modern American Liberals.

[@Kaylakaze]

"it's about punishment and humiliation" It always was.

[@taylorh9282]

Ghosting bigots is not bigotry.

[@Grassdia]

It is if they are black though

[@benjaminlore6633]

assuming they are bigots just because they vote the other side is bigotry, though

[@MrTalithan]

​@benjaminlore6633 you're either a bigot or genuinely stupid if you voted for Trump. Both are valid reasons to not associate with someone.

[@elisexxiv]

@@benjaminlore6633 voting for someone who is actively advocating taking human rights away is bigotry

[@Iaml3j0]

Fascists aren’t people

[@rebelpiggy]

Last time I checked, only bad guys banned books.

[@justr6982]

Seriously, been fighting for 2 years to keep my library open. Where is the equivalent action by liberals?

[@mkhud50n]

nobody is banning books. people are censoring free speech though.

[@mkhud50n]

@@justr6982 being hair triggered censorship advocates for the past decade.

[@justr6982]

@@mkhud50n literally my library was shut down for having LGBTQ books. And yes, the GOP just passed a bill allowing them to unilaterally shut down non profits, definitely aimed at censoring free speech

[@A.B.-ub9un]

@@mkhud50n The right has tried to ban books they disagree with.

[@zer0prototype5]

I have literally spent years calmly explaining to friends, family, and strangers that they are being lied to. Lying about politics needs to be illegal. Clearly the population can't make informed decisions when they are willfully being misinformed .

[@MisterCynic18]

I remember when I was growing up the media landscape was full of messages about diversity and empathy, and how a team of quirky kids from all walks of lfe could come together to defeat the forces of evil. For as corny as that whole era was I genuinely believed the world did or at least could work that way. I don't remember when exactly I lost hope but I wonder from time to time whether that message was always a lie or did society just take a wrong turn somewhere. It just seems so alien to reality now that I have a hard time believing it was ever a possibility.

[@meatwax]

Same. 2020 whas when I lost hope. And adopted "I wont kill you , but I dont have to save you. And don't make your problems mine, and I won't make mine yours"...now Fascists are making thier hate and bigotry my problem...I bought my first firearm.

[@NWPaul72]

I blame Poe. He made it impossible to call a Nazi a Nazi and their numbers grew.

[@nates9105]

It did. It was called Reagan 😅

[@Dogonauts]

The Pandemic was my last straw. I'd spent years trying to show empathy and compassion for my MAGA Republican family members but the stuff they said, believed and followed and blowing off every attempt I made to encourage them to get vaccinated died when I my last attempt just got me catching some of the most offensive anti-gay bullshit I'd heard from my family up to that point. It's depressing when you realize that there's a large segment of the population that just don't care about other people or having truly fucked up beliefs or positions. At this point I wouldn't piss on them if they were burning because I know they wouldn't stop and help me if I needed it and in fact many of them would pour more gasoline on me and cheer and call me some choice slurs.

[@rhyestripes6059]

it was always a lie, someone shouldve told you sooner

[@TennesseeJed]

Post-truth = post-trust It is more serious than subjective taste in music or food when it becomes existential economic survival inside a society.

[@MrWillcapone]

Yeah, the enlightened centrist approach coated in academic speak won't cut it on this one, Michael. Not all relationships are worth repairing, especially when it's always the same ones who are trying. But I still like you guys' overall work.

[@SlashRaven008]

Agreed. It is often nit safe to attempt to 'build bridges' with an abuser, for example.

[@moonlitmortician6694]

Same. I mean, this isn’t a disagreement over a movie or your friend accidentally eating your food. This is that same friend voting for an actual facists who is advocating for making your life specifically worse. Either they like how that sounds and are pulling some double think bullshit or they don’t care about you enough to think how this will affect your life.

[@JaxWylds]

What they dont acknowledge is that political choices represent your judgment, not your tastes. People who are close to you have significant influence over you. You have to trust their judgment skills for your safety and security. Who someone chooses as a leader says a lot.

[@stefanosolari6989]

​@@moonlitmortician6694 I may not be North American. But I can tell you that you don't know what a truly bad president is. In my country we have 3 presidents in jail. We would have 4, but the bastard shoot himself the very same day the police was getting to his house to get him. We even got 3 presidents in a spawn of a month. The first one fuck it so bad that we kick him out, the his vice president came, and we kick him out too.

[@MrWillcapone]

@moonlitmortician6694 always reminds me of that one HuffPo article from almost a decade ago, I think, or smth like that. I'm paraphrasing here. The gist was "I Don't Know How To Explain To You That You Should Care About Other People"

[@joshuadarling7439]

Im schizophrenic. Sometimes i build relationships with people that only exist in my head, and when i realize it, i get upset that my notions have betrayed me. I often wonder if (mostly) everyone in america suffers the same form of delusions, and are just less aware of it.

[@prod.arcsyne2990]

Shout out to the people in your head that showed you loved.

[@nates9105]

No. They disassociate. When confronted with something that makes them question reality, their feelings they consider true, and their positions on things (valid or otherwise) - they disassociate instead of processing it with rational thought 😅 Americans are sick in the head

[@jameshughes3014]

I think you're on to something. I think we all , in a mild but real way, live in a reality crafted by the internet and the media, one that isn't quite real, and we react to that fake reality.

[@Ajv516]

I don’t think you’re wrong to think that. It is consistent with coming to terms with secular myths I’d convinced myself of (even when knowing better), and observing the refusal to give up fictions that people continue to tell themselves.

[@da_copreee9929]

i mean parasocial relationships are a thing, drama in fandoms revolve around characters in media... we do pretty much

[@ericvicaria8648]

Thanks. It's a great time to be told to think completely and hold compassion for fascists who openly want to harm us. That'll help so many people.

[@mkhud50n]

you've been told that lie. quit believing it. unless you're talking about aqua tefana poisoning or not helping victims of hurricanes. that I would understand.

[@RayneNikole]

I get it. Im one of the trans people that they openly talk about harming and im scared for my future, ive already faced descrimination. But Im also absolutely exhausted by all the hate. Im not tired of being a nice person, im tired of cycles of hate and violence continuing. a lot of the voter base is just ignorant and often poor and we have more in common with them then the politicians they elected that manipulated them through tech giants that help create these cults. The fascists exploited them too. their fears, their beliefs. I refuse to let their hate infect me. I want people to see the humanity in *ME* Im not going to let the demagogues make me stop seeing the humanity in others.

[@mkhud50n]

@ finally someone that understands what fascism actually is. Bonus points for nailing it with demagoguery. Based.

[@giannisparanis3373]

​@@RayneNikole It doesn't matter that you have more in common with them. Those will be the people lynching you, not Trump himself (he probably doesn't care at all).

[@dimitryanyanwu7681]

Trump is not a Fascist, and you have no idea what that word means this is misinformation

[@hououinkyouma5539]

I wouldn't wish harm to most those people, but I don't see why I should associate with them either

[@NWPaul72]

You're better than me. I've got an ever-growing list of legislators that I will challenge to fisticuffs if I ever get in a room with them. I don't think I was always like this.

[@logan7882]

because if you don't you end up in an echo chamber. it's so sad how many of these comments completely missed the video. did you even watch it? thinking of them as "those people" is what you're doing wrong.

[@iseeu-fp9po]

​@@logan7882 I didn't miss the point of the video, but I can certainly understand the defeatist timbre of many of the comments that I've read here. I'm pretty certain that many people will start to reach out more after a while. Right now people are licking their wounds after the election. I do agree with you about the dangers of echo chambers though, but I can't bring myself to watch american right-wing media like Fox News or Newsmax. Do you have any recommendations in that regard? Like, how can one understand the other side better without having to watch these types of channels?

[@NWPaul72]

@@iseeu-fp9po ground news is looking pretty useful. It looks like a way to read opposition news without having to jump in their sewer and strain it yourself.

[@allbutperfect]

@@logan7882 That's what THEY do...why is one side expected to be more human?? Very silly how much one side is expected to overextend themselves to people who want to see them dead

[@t-money1984]

While I do agree with the premise and believe there is more value in working to understand the positions of people I disagree with, it also just that: work. Over the last 10 years I've gotten much better at having these kinds of discussions, going out of my way to be empathetic and give people the benefit of the doubt. But it's exhausting. The fact is that I no longer have the energy or drive to engage with bad-faith actors who refuse to put in that same level of work to understand me or my positions. As a gay man in a red state, I can't help but feel like all the emotional labor I've done to reach conservatives has been for nothing. So I'm done. I only have so much energy and time, and going forward I will not be wasting any more of it on hateful bigots and liars. I only care that they voted for a fascist, and I refuse to do the labor of understanding why.

[@justr6982]

I've gone through the exact same process. Plus in my experience the ratio of people who were actually open to dialogue was way lower than bad faith actors. They'd terminate any topic fairly quickly

[@moonlitmortician6694]

At this point, we're all just enabling them, feeding them carrots until we somehow choke.

[@fj81191]

My focus now is on making sure they get an accurate read on the consequences of their actions, and a clear explanation of the causes and their effects. If there's one maximum failure looming, it's missing the opportunity to learn from the tragedies ahead. We cannot allow them to taint the narrative this time.

[@SeventhWhiteCat]

And that work and energy would have been much better spent supporting the victims of the fascist regime they voted for.

[@SquishyProductions]

AMEN!

[@miscaccount9438]

America is, in truth, a one-party nation. But in typical American extravagance, we have 2 of them Americans hate each other because caring about another somehow makes you a communist 😂

[@JoelFeila]

You're not wrong. Months ago I read a new article about a priest that was told by his congregation "where did you get that liberal shit". He was simply quoting the part of the bible about feeding the poor and welcoming the stranger.

[@djangokill65]

The irony of so-called "Christians" bashing communism and praising Jesus.

[@DanielGarcia-rx3kt]

Caring for each other is, actually, a part of communism. Capitalism commodifies everything. Including caring. "From each according to their ability, to each according to their need." Everyone contributes to society to the best of their ability, everyone gets the necessities they need (including free time to not be productive and rest).

[@zachybeats]

Americans refuse to accept that communism has the potential to improve the wellbeing of our lives because of a century+ of red scare tactics by government officials and the ruling class. Supporting the major parties is supporting the interests of the rich over the majority, so in that way, caring about others could be seen as an act of communism because you’re prioritizing the wellbeing of community over the financial wellbeing of corporate and political elites.

[@nates9105]

​​​@@JoelFeilaAaaand that is why their fascade of being "a Christian" is just an excuse to justify their cruelty even though the faith itself says we are to be more social 😅

[@kahner93]

Americans have always hated each other. We're just more aware of it now due to technology/social media.

[@MrBazBake]

Mexican-American War, Civil War, Spanish-American War, Jim Crow, Trail of Tears, World War I, World War II American Bund coining America First, Black Civil Rights Movement, American Indian Movement, Women's Liberation, Gay Rights Movement, Trans Rights Movement... And there is always an America First, there is always a Cultural Marxism, there is always a Make America Great Again, and these terms have all been around for over forty years, some of them for 100 years. We just didn't have a white kid in Illinois discovering the internet for the first time and memeing to us about it until 20 years ago. We used to blame individuals for fascism, then we blamed institutions for fascism, now we blame resistance to those institutions for fascism and the institutions blame us for complaining about fascism too much. That last one is the "Divide" we're talking about, LOL.

[@metrodonkey8093]

and there's so much money in hate, it's never been more profitable for media to exploit that

[@saint037]

it's beautiful what social media has revealed about us as a collective

[@JoelFeila]

After how many hours of debate, talking, and arguing is it fine for me to say "I don't want to do this anymore"? How many times do I need to try to help and turned away before its ok to leave them even if they suffer? How many times do trump supporters need to shoot at fema workers before it ok for fema to leave those areas alone? What about "I don't think they evil I think they are been lied to" Does that pull me out of this? Also can you pick something other then infant memories. No one remembers being an infant. It makes it really hard to follow anything you are sying.

[@Draconicdeer]

I understand why you are weary. I understand why you might lost hope that they can’t be helped, I don’t even really disagree with you. But to give up entirely seems like a bad idea. You should aim to work with those who already agree with you to organise not necessarily to help those who spurned you but yourself and others that agree with you to protect yourself from the coming storm. As you tough out the worsening conditions with the expectation things are going to get worse those who put their faith in Trump will be blindsided by it resulting in a great deal of anger and frustration. These people may not understand how they got to this point or how they were duped but among those who are not true loyalists or fascists they will be upset with how things have turned out and hopefully when the issues finally effect them they will vote (/ if necessary fight) against fascists simply to save there own skin but they are an ally at such a point non the less. All you can do now is knuckle down and batten down the hatches. You should save most importantly stock up on medicine, money and food in that order of importance (I know these may normally be quite important but now more so than ever). Get to know those in your area that will protect you and you will protect them. If you have family / friends abroad have a plan that you organise with them that if it comes to it to flee. Keep a to go bag packed at home for if you need to leave quickly. If you can withstand the incoming storm I am confident ultimately a bounce back will happen, sadly it will likely only happen when things get really bad and seemingly many people either don’t know or don’t care about the warning signs leading up to that point. Good luck to you and others.

[@Iaml3j0]

@@DraconicdeerFascists aren’t people

[@winterburden]

We really need a new Bill of Rights so people actually have basic human rights that can't be taken away by the winner of a popularity contest or their Supreme Court appointees.

[@SimulacresSimulacres-h6i]

The bill of rights was mostly just an attempt to appease the slave holding states. 3/5ths a person and all that does wonders for the white men at top. Considering Biden learned nothing of his warhawk stance and appeasement of the far right, what would the new one be? There's a reason the 3 richest men in the world live in this country, they know what we want and are primed to exploit any opportunity that arises. Actual change, like how its always been in history, will be hard and painful if there is any hope for actually addressing the core problems of autocratic capitalism.

[@nonamelegend_vapor]

It would honestly provide a bit of a solution to the conundrum of "what are human rights? Who decides what they are? How big of a group has to agree that something is a right before we decide it is?" etc.

[@BigOwl51]

Oh but have you considered the feewings of these fascists who want to kill you? Hi, I’m wisecrack. Please be nice to these nazis. They’re people too. Please be nice to the people who voted for Epstein’s best friend.

[@mkhud50n]

tell me you don't understand what rights are without telling me you don't know what rights are.

[@winterburden]

@@mkhud50n okay, bootlicker

[@nophone1937]

The main gist of the video, at least on a first watch, seems to be that black and white thinking is an early psychological development that is inadequate for navigating the complexity of real life. My main issue with the ideas presented is simple consequentialism. The reasons people have for acting in ways that bring about serious and real harm are irrelevant in the face of said real and serious harm. Any understanding of why it is reasonable from their perspective is unable to justify the suffering caused.

[@cyclic_infinity]

But isn't an understanding of why it is reasonable from their perspective necessary to prevent further harms? So many people made a choice we disagree with for extremely variable reasons, lumping them all into the same bucket is exactly the binary thinking that eschews complexity and causes harm that Trump voters typically engaged in. Understanding is not condoning and it is not justifying, conflating those does not follow. Empathy does not necessitate agreeing with the perspective of the other.

[@ModernVintage31]

@@cyclic_infinity Understanding why someone behaves narcissistically or sociopathically does not keep you safe from them. Since 2016 we have been saturated with think pieces about how to empathize with the people who act to destroy our democracy and social fabric. That has not helped us. The more we understand of them the more we see that their choices are truly immoral. The time for sensitively probing and understanding is over. Now is the time for action.

[@nophone1937]

@cyclic_infinity I never made the point that we ought not to understand why it is reasonable from their perspective. Only that regardless of their reasons, the harm still stands, and their reasons do not mitigate or otherwise make up for said harm. Understanding is important to make progress with these people, but it is equally important to recognize the harm they cause and not to waive such harm away with their justifications.

[@cynthiamontgomery1192]

Well... guess we are doomed. Because we are unable to stop black and white thinking...nuance please.​@ModernVintage31

[@Kaylakaze]

@@cyclic_infinity Their reasons don't matter. The actions that need to be taken are the same, and there's only one thing you give a fascist-man.

[@eugeniov]

This video seems entirely contradictive to your Jubilee video - where one side is entirely pro-racism, fascism, and the deletion of people's existence, to the other being, not that? I will, and will continue to vilify a "side" of people that do not believe in the existence of my peers, family, and rights. There is no empathy lost for those who never showed it to me in the first.

[@GAHAHAHH]

Even if it wasn't the intention it still baffles me that he could upload a video this tone deaf and hypocritical right after the Jubilee video.

[@markanderson7236]

20:16 Just the ending, not the entire video.

[@matthewbeat]

You are not seeing nuance

[@GAHAHAHH]

@@matthewbeat Now is not the time for "nuance" the metaphorical train is about to crash and one side is saying "pull the breaks" and the other is saying "we need more fuel" there is no use in understanding how they came to their incorrect conclusion that going faster will make the crash "not as bad" and every moment we wast not pulling the breaks is passing another point of no return.

[@Dezturbed]

@@GAHAHAHH but if we can't pull the breaks now, and apparently need more consensus(which is stupid cause, common, just look at the weather) before we can demand that the breaks get pulled, isn't the only option to find ways to get that other side to see the truth, and the more ways we have the more people will be liberated from those rightwing cult leaders? Be mad and exasperated if you are, but directing it back at them just cements them into that stance, galvanizing them and ultimately reducing the number that leave and lengthening the time it takes to pull the break? I understand you're mad, I am too, but hate doesn't defeat hate. These people are scared and ill informed. They need understanding to leave, just like any cult, we can't risk scaring off the few that are close to leaving because we think they should have left sooner.

[@d3vitron779]

Letting someone who denies the rights of others ‘just slide’ shows nothing but privilege.

[@lonesaiyan27]

What specific rights are being denied?

[@hellraiserward]

@@lonesaiyan27 freedom of choice, freedom of existence. Conservatives have made it very clear that they do not want people in the lgbt community to have rights let alone exist. this isn't a connecting the dots thing liberals have made. Conservative politicians have said time and time again lgbt people should not exist. Liberals have been described as an enemy of the nation far greater than outside influences. you don't casually exist with your enemy. Conservatives view liberals as an opposition to be eliminated and will justify it through whichever means makes them more comfortable with it.

[@d3vitron779]

@ women’s and trans people’s right to healthcare. Imagine you needed a surgery to live or be comfortable, but your doctor couldn’t because of a law. And before you say that’s a whataboutism, there are already plenty of cases of avoidable deaths from abortion bans. It’s never been “pro life”, only pro control

[@karleells6540]

No one is denying rights. Lol

[@karleells6540]

@@lonesaiyan27exactly

[@PanteraRossa]

That's the scariest thing about the last election. Remember in 2016 we all had awkward holidays where the weird uncles were gloating and ruinning family reunions? Well, now it's infected Friendsgiving as its not just our metaphorical weird uncles but actually lots of our friends and coworkers whom you've had a working class f-the-man/system convesations with. THAT sucks. The fact that so many of our college buddies and early adulthood friends are playing out that old adage "socialists at 20, neocons at 40" bs without even the slightest hint of self awareness is super sad. They're so "anti establishment" they literally vote for oligarchs who idolize Hitler and model their society after Putin and Xi. There's no redeeming that man, sorry. I'd rather eat alone for the rest of my life than see people I considered political allies and people I saw myself in getting sucked up into one of the most obvious and blatant psychops mass hysteria campaigns ever pulled on the West. You reap what you sow. You think people who look and talk and come from my ethnic background belong in prison camps just because we're born on the wrong side of the border? Like how am I supposed to accept that you feel this way in private but act completely normal and nice when we're face to face? It's such a mindfuck.

[@alexcardosa8079]

Exactly, I have no more empathy to give to the enemy.

[@wmd13194]

So u want illegal immigrants to enter a country without meeting the requisites to live in America? How about this instead, why not fix Mexico so ppl won't have to go over the border to a country that doesn't want them there illegally. How u ppl this dumb?

[@Theomite]

I'm just pissed that people older and more accomplished than I am have forgotten the lessons of the 20th Century regardless of all the evidence and precedent swamping them.

[@tonywords6713]

Very well said, and yes it is absolutely surreal and I think will be studied as a traumatic phenomenon by future historians, assuming there will be any.

[@Theomite]

@@tonywords6713 I'm calling it "Imminence Incredulity": where you see plentiful evidence of an encroaching existential danger, but your mind cannot accept the reality of it due to the alien nature of the necessary solution required. I have lots of friends who are taking action in fundraising and other non-violent stuff they were doing before. When I ask them "what do you do when that stuff is criminalized or forcibly stopped?" they get very irate with me; when I bring up armed resistance like the French Resistance, they all but get up and leave. It's like, all their actions/activism has to match their moral outlook or else they can't bring themselves to do it or even think of it.

[@Uptomyknees]

Showing Darth Vader vs. Luke on Cloud City as an example of a binary good and bad narrative is kind of an odd choice. It's that sequence that concretely establishes Darth Vader as more complex than originally imagined, and ultimately leads to the next film confirming no one is necessarily completely evil beyond redemption, as its emotional complex.

[@wilberwhateley7569]

True, but that's not how most people (especially in the States) interpret this scene - our culture has a tendency to avoid nuance and embrace dichotomies...

[@NWPaul72]

Yup, and Luke showed susceptibility to the Dark Side in that scene as well. That was the film where Lucas said, "well, things are a little more complex than they seem."

[@MuadMouse]

I think it works if you consider it from what the movies had portrayed to that point: Luke as the virtuous hero and Darth Vader as the irredeemable villain. It is only after this scene that the narrative complicates matters - going from the paranoid-schizoid toward the depressive , as it were.

[@PaperySloth]

Demanding us be empathetic when the other side would rathee die than show any empathy at all sure is an interesting take.

[@maxpagan635]

empathy does not remove your right to be angry against anyone. It doesn’t even remove your right to hate them. empathy does not mean you take it on the chin every time. empathy is not the centrist, resigned, deflated path-it is the radical, necessary, difficult path. It is analytical, considers context, tries to understand-because that will allow us to build better strategies, build a better world. If you empathize with someone that’s full of internalized racism, does that mean you’re capitulating to them? of course not

[@PaperySloth]

​@@maxpagan635honestly, I believe you're delusional and that the country is beyond saving at this point. It isn't optimistic or heroic of me, but it's the truth. And you simply can't keep trying to claim the high ground with these people if they never cared about it in the first place. As long as people are fearful, as long as resources are finite, and as long as gullible people will continue to be fooled, humanity will always have to bear the burden of conservatism.

[@shygeist]

​@maxpagan635 this. I empathize with the trumpets I've cut off. Doesn't mean I need to continue speaking with them if they are JUST not my kind of person. But I can empathize and understand what might have lead to their decision, and use that going forward as a tool

[@maxpagan635]

@@shygeist yeah that's what I mean

[@theprecipiceofreason]

If humanity makes you human, then those that lack it are..?

[@Darkloid21]

Unfortunately I have to disagree on this one. This centrist approach doesn’t help anyone. One side literally doesn’t care about reality or facts, it’s not even comparable. That’s why likening it to some disorder falls flat, the evidence just doesn’t support it. And sadly they won’t learn until it hurts them directly, they’ll learn sooner or later when they reap what they voted for. We had the evidence, the proof, his history, and none of it mattered, because they don’t care. Now we all have to suffer for their ignorance. Again this is just a matter of the majority of the country doesn’t really care about social issues or policies until it affects THEM. Why else would they vote for tariffs?

[@WisecrackEDU]

In fairness this isn't an argument for centrism, at all.

[@Darkloid21]

@ Yeah but the issue here is the sides at play. If it were any other election I would agree with you but this is MAGA we’re talking about here. For crying out loud people were googling what his policies meant AFTER he got elected and were getting scared. That’s why I’m with the FAFO movement on this one, they’ll learn the hard way.

[@matheussantiago3230]

But that's the point of a democracy. You vote for the person who affects you in direct way.

[@Darkloid21]

@ I get that, but this is sorta an exceptional case.

[@dandarr5035]

@@WisecrackEDU Then what IS this supposed to be an argument for? Sitting down with them to have a nice chat about why they want to ban healthcare specific to Transgender people, knowing that a large number of Trans people will likely end up committing suicide as a result? Asking nicely about why they want to deport millions of immigrants, many of which our economy relies on to function properly, even going so far as to denaturalize some who have already attained full citizenship? Politely debating them on the merits of banning books written by authors of marginalized backgrounds for the heinous crime of... depicting the experiences of marginalized people? Asking nicely about why they're okay with banning teachers from acknowledging the existence of queer people, or preventing teachers from teaching about how race-based chattel slavery was bad? We're not talking about quibbles over how early we should teach children foreign languages like Polish or Italian in school. We're not talking about how much we should subsidize the wine industry. The livelihoods of many people will most likely be ruined by the incoming administration, and a large number of unnecessary deaths will happen. Sitting down and asking nicely as to why they're okay with this hasn't worked. The damage has been done.

[@alexandergarfield1561]

So a way to counter this in our culture, would be being able to trigger a guilt response to the unacceptable behavior? Cause the attempt of understanding it is not gonna get over unrestricted paranoia. Like I have no counter to people just thinking there is 2million illegal immigrants that are also sleep cell agents. I don't know what I can expose to this person to counter this level of paranoia of such an absurd idea.

[@AussieGriffin]

I got out of the conspiracy movement in 2012 and I think I got out just in time, before the alt-right stuff came in. I moved in with a friend years later who let me just talk and since I wasn't hostile to other points of view I viewed the information that had been selectively edited out from so many presenters. Problem is, this took years in the aggregate and we're staring down mass-manufactured crazy with people who use alien nomenclature and frames of reference. They literally speak another language simply by redefining terms. A.G.

[@alexandergarfield1561]

@@AussieGriffin Yeah middle range we can definitely work with but like what do we do with the especially paranoid ones. More so because they have befriended each other and feeding each other the same lies that made the group in the first place. So them moving in with other friends might not trigger the turning point you had.

[@BrokeredHeart]

Guilt and shame are responses to some situation in which the person shows empathy for someone else, acknowledges their active or passive participation in demoralizing/degrading/dehumanizing another, and feels some form of remorse for their part. When it's something direct like bullying a classmate at school, or harassing a woman at work, those direct interactions are easier to attach oneself to, thus the emotional response to acting horribly is more readily accessible. Those are the people who can more easily contextualize the consequences of personal actions because it's in their sphere of influence and personal relationships. But when it's more abstract, like you voted for a representative who signed off on rounding up illegal migrants, or who forced families with transgendered kids to flee their state due to removed protections and health care access, unless it's happening to that individual directly, they have some form of cover in their ignorance and avoidance. In my experience, the people with the fewest contacts and community relationships are the ones who are the least remorseful, and don't take personal accountability.

[@maxpower8429]

@@alexandergarfield1561so we’re does the far left fit into this? Obviously you should be introspective

[@alexandergarfield1561]

@@maxpower8429 What do you consider to be far left? Cause our culture's far left is Europe's moderate right.

[@LeftofBernie]

21:49 long video to dance around the question of “why is America so divided” with the answer being that millions of them voted away people’s individual rights and pushed this country further down the drain. There is no forgiveness for selling out your fellow human.

[@wmd13194]

What rights were voted against please provide a list. Ur also one making it a blame game and not understanding why more people opted to go the other way rather than blue this time around

[@timothym9398]

Well, the white collar middle class (perceived as the democratic base) sold out the working class time and time again over the last 20-30 years. Every time the working class expressed its pain it was told "shut the fuck up and sit down , don't you see we need to help (trans, POC, immigrants, etc..) whatever the public project we are being vocal about at the time. Trump validated their pain, and did so in a way that wasn't condescending or shitty, unlike the majority of the voices on the democratic side, and we can see it again with all the messaging about "low information voters". The Dems are stressing that it was the voters fault, not the Dems failure for not communicating effectively or delivering aggressively enough. We need to get the smugness out of the lefts messaging, especially when we don't actually effectively deliver on our rhetoric.

[@danemlive]

@@timothym9398 I don't totally disagree with your sentiment, but do find it interesting you say working class in one breathe and then trans, POC and immigrant in another. Are Trans, POC and Immigrants not part of the working class too? Are their issues not working class issues?

[@timothym9398]

@@danemlive I think you're being deliberately obtuse. Each of those groups problems are being identified by the left as individual groups. None of them who we working class had their issues that were caused by their working class status identified. Think of it this way a POC complains that their working class job isn't paying the bills and the left responds "But we got you more media representation! There is a black female dwarf on the new lord of the rings!" You didn't address in any way their class status issues, you attempted to mollify the middle class POC priority issues, not the working class POC issues. You can take this same tendency across every single identity group. We address the very poor and the very comfortable of every identity group, and use that as an excuse to no acknowledge the glaring gap of the ever growing working class and working poor.

[@jacobtuttle4311]

​@@timothym9398I agree. And i see people commenting on how people are stupid for worrying about groceries prices like that isn't the make or break point for a lot of people living paycheck to paycheck. An extra 50 dollars a week a lot to some people and that's an indictment of how bad economic prospects are despite what economists are saying. I'm definitely not saying that Trump will fix that but the left is supposed to be the sympathetic side and both sides seem to drop sympathy when it comes to showing it to people you don't agree with

[@bigmoviefreak]

I can’t help but feel that this is yet another excuse for validating bad, awful behaviour. You can be sure that the other side is not even thinking for us in the slightest.

[@LuisSierra42]

So what is your plan? mass shooting? you've taken an extreme position which is only going to hurt you in the long run, just like the video explains

[@alexcardosa8079]

They are strategizing what else they will do to their enemy. People need to grow a pair and stop finding a way to justify the enemy.

[@tgs7515]

Exactly. MAGA doesn’t have these kinds of think pieces to understand why 81 million people voted for Biden. The right wing ecosphere didn’t spend one second trying to consider the feelings of people on the left after Jan 6th. No. They don’t, and they won’t ever care about us. And, like you, I’m tired of the left bending over backwards to “understand” and be “empathetic” toward people who repeatedly make bad choices. I’m tired of being expected to be the adult in the room. Screw these people. They made their choices. It’s about time they face the consequences.

[@saint037]

I'm not American and the fact that I can't tell which side you're on and which one you're talking about is unironically hilarious to me

[@BlueHooloovoo]

And you learned nothing. Typical.

[@LeonMRr]

"Don't attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity" is exceptionally relevant now.

[@hegyak]

When one side kinda sucks and the other side wants me dead. Yea. I am NOT ok with that. I am REALLY not ok with the kinda suck side, pandering to the wants me dead side.

[@369frequencyandvibration]

Are you talking about Abortion Vans at the DNC ?

[@justr6982]

​​@@369frequencyandvibrationnope 🤡

[@nunyah-wl1wx]

@@369frequencyandvibration Take your meds man

[@mkhud50n]

what side wants you dead? source?

[@hegyak]

@@369frequencyandvibration Are You Tungsten?

[@victorhsluiz]

So, we have a high amount of entitled little babies that we should be more empathetic with instead of vilifying them? I don't know man, that sounds kinda hard, can we at least continue to make fun of them?

[@justr6982]

The same people ironically calling the left snowflakes for like 15 years

[@dustindude4995]

We need to have enough empathy to understand what motivates such bizarre behavior, but not necessarily enough to give the consequences a pass. I've tried fixing problems without knowing the cause; odds tend to be less favorable.

[@leonardolechuga9171]

The example of Flint Michigan is interesting. I don't think it's that people are cursing the place to suffer. I think it's more like my great Grandma use to say to people that refused to be helped: "Eat sh*t then"

[@Violent_Wolfen]

Funny thing is the lead water was under a Republicans watch.

[@MartyD]

The two party system needs to go away!

[@menma9364]

It's the same side, either way.

[@alexcardosa8079]

Americans just show they can’t even handle a two party system so expect going to one the.

[@alexcardosa8079]

@@menma9364No it’s not the same.

[@myra-yves]

@@alexcardosa8079both parties will do anything to uphold capitalism, republicans are just more extreme and blatant about it so yeah they really are essentially the same

[@NWPaul72]

Ranked Choice voting!

[@magnus_cockstrong]

I really hate when my country collapses into smashism.

[@NicholasSeamans]

Stop smashing the like button then

[@outerheaven2k7]

I feel its easy to take that stance when you are a cis person As a trans person, my "friends" voting against my right to exist sort of has a direct consequence

[@sakuraluv123]

Maybe not call male or female "Cis" and they might lean more to that side

[@Theomite]

Yeah, I don't like this "be the better person" quality to the video. He's making a good point without admitting that it doesn't work if a large contingent of people don't care about it. The "They go low, we go high" thing has backfired monumentally over 8 years.

[@fantuswitt9063]

@@Theomite Maybe it did not work because you never used it and instead called everyone nazi

[@bustoo]

​@@sakuraluv123 why do you see Cis as a bad term? Is white also a bad term? Neurotypical?

[@jeffreychandler8418]

@@sakuraluv123 grow a thicker skin. It is a neutral word you project malice onto.

[@DeadLoon]

While empathy is important, what's more important is grasping the reality of these problems so that we might fix them. Human behavior is the product of an ensemble of social relations arising from the material conditions of the world as it is now and how it has been (a product of history). This reality is in contradiction to popular ideology that would hold the individual as a metaphysical being that exists above the material world as to be unconstrained by it, so when one makes a choice it is but one of limitless choices that are all equally viable. When someone casts their ballot for Trump we look at that moment alone instead of the myriad of moments that proceeded it that even made it possible. We need to move beyond this myopic sort of thinking, because all it does is make us upset and provides us with no solutions.

[@DLYoung-bu5ui]

I have family that are exceedingly boisterous about the Trump support. I have co-workers who talk as though the man walks on water. And I talk to them both. Not because I feel I can change their minds or anything, but because I remember 2017, and 2018, and 2019...and 2020 when day after day their vocal support dwindled as Donnie opened his mouth and continually did and said things on the world stage that eventually even made them cringe while also not delivering on the simplest of campaign promises with barely any oppositional pushback. Those moments are forgotten (obviously) by these people, but it will come back because the man has not changed: he is still the same egotistical loudmouth who cannot take criticism and believes no matter what room he walks into HE is the smartest/greatest individual present. The difference this time, however, and one that I really enjoy talking about with his supporters, is some of what RFK is proposing, and watching these Trump supporters light up with glee at the prospect of removing high fructose corn syrup and various additives and chemicals from food production. It is fun to remind them how those were some of the policy prescriptions laid out in Michelle Obama's food desert initiatives back in 2009...and discussed again by Bernie Sanders during his POTUS bid in 2015. Watching them try to rationalize why these REGULATIONS were "bad" under Obama and Sanders, but "good" under Trump is interesting to say the least. However, it does give me some hope given that these are populist ideas that were pushed by a far more left position that the right, over time, has incorporated into their own political ideology, providing more evidence that history bends to progressivism.

[@pXnTilde]

Michelle Obama had a great food program, and then the food industry started "supporting" her campaign and suddenly all that vanished. Weird how quickly people forget about their values when money gets thrown around.

[@IcouldBewrong-d4v]

You get the opposite as well people who think something can’t be true cause trump said it or the policy must be bad because it was under trump

[@Iaml3j0]

Fascists aren’t people

[@thebalkanfilmmaker9858]

I know a example of blackman by the name of Darly Davis who talked to KKK members and asked them-how can you hate me when you don,t even know me -and by talking with them he managed to convince 200 of them leave the clan.

[@DylanMadd]

6:40 In the movie Tombstone, Doc Holiday insists the antagonist is out for revenge for being born. It was a little dramatic. Just like the “trauma of being born”.

[@dHace]

I was right with you all the way until you said you don't want to share dishes at dinner. You're dead to me now after years of watching this channel.

[@jonofthehill]

Try to share dishes with me you'll get a fork in the hand, I'm with Michael.

[@HeathAlexander]

False equivalency much? Liking hot topic music isn't a deal breaker. Liking cruel criminal billionaire white supremacist misogynists is a deal breaker.

[@morantNO1]

Name one thing that qualifies him as a white supremacist.

[@Rahshu]

I can be empathetic, I can understand people's frustrations and fears, and can see how they arrive at a particular way of thinking. The problem I finally have is being asked to do this work for people who never, ever reciprocate. It shouldn't be one way, but it so often is.

[@heavenly2k]

I dont know how to reconcile the fact that someone I care for has voted for a r*pist to be our president.

[@neveklund3267]

I know what you mean. How can people vote for a criminal? There is simply no excuse for such an evil vote.

[@BlanBonco]

They don't believe he is. I got told by a Trumper Hillary did the most crazy depraved sexual things I've ever heard. He was totally serious

[@georgelucas2571]

I mean every politician is dirty as hell. Trump, Biden, Obama, Bush are all one of the same. The elite are all evil and disgusting people. Harris is no different. And yet we continue to vote for them and act like the two parties are actually different.

[@thezplayer3002]

where's the proof?

[@allbutperfect]

@@thezplayer3002 He is an adjudicated rapist. There's your proof. Also a dozen or moreso women can't have all made up their accusations, let alone the band of rapists and sexual predators he hired indicated what kind of man he is

[@SimonVelazquez]

Ok, but understanding and empathizing with people who make terrible choices isn't productive either. At some point the people making the mistakes need to take accountability. This video is preaching to a choir that is fed up with taking the high road and is frustrated with the lack of real solutions.

[@chiyokou2222]

Currently ghosting my mom cause she has no respect for my boundaries, when I’m too angry to talk compassionately with her or listen passively to her apparently paranoid-schizo rants. I tried to get in touch with her today for a couple hours, for the first time in a couple weeks and she ghosted me in return, so not feeling that bad. lol I don’t really see why I should play nice with someone who wants me tortured back to her version of good (so glad to be an adult who can’t be forced into conversion camp.) but it’s not even really agree to disagree if your friend forces you to listen to their music constantly. Won’t take turns and continues to tell you that you smell like a dumpster for your taste in music.

[@nimged8952]

Or as The Specials sang in their hitsong "Racist Friend": If you have a racist friend. Now is the time, now is the time for your friendship to end.

[@NWPaul72]

It's my understanding that TMBG recorded "Your Racist Friend." It's on "Flood".

[@AMcGrath82]

This overlooks a very organized, deliberate effort to divide us the same way other countries have successfully been in the past.

[@nagamata]

I recently had my own sapling of a realization of the “splitting” concept when my 4 year old nephew kept asking me if this or that character, monster, creature, etc, was a good guy or a bad guy. I consistently found myself holding back a deluge of philosophical ideas from this little dude who I’ve deemed unready for a heavy dose of disillusionment, so I’d just tell him “sometimes.”

[@grt1769]

When you got all these media companies drumming conflicting realities into people's heads, this is what you get.

[@goldencrab1267]

I think having empathy is only useful if everyone is feeling it. And I don't think everyone is feeling it.

[@drx16111]

It's fear and rage I see

[@EricTheBody]

I feel like my empathy is constantly punished by society.

[@evanwheeler634]

I appreciate the analogy for our current moment. I will say on an individual level, this explains the splitting-projection reactions we experience in politics. Empathy is fundamentally important. Extending that empathy is critical. The struggle that I believe this video dodges because it’s hard to answer is how to grapple with empathy in the depressive position with the actions of the paranoid-schizoid. You point out that the all bad can inform self-defensive action. Most aggression in politics seems to be framed from that point as well. However, the depressive position which is desirable because it’s reality consistent. However it leaves one on the back foot when a paranoid schizoid actor seeks to “defend” themselves. The reality of our moment is that most people think the simple story is going to fix our issues. That deporting millions, taxing imports from other countries, and centralizing authority in a strong man will some how “reduce inflation” or “bring back jobs to Americans”. Reality in the next 4 years might, and probably will, show the flaws in this approach, but there’s real harm done not only to the targets but to the actors who are both easy to misunderstand. So being in a depressive position and acknowledging reality isn’t enough of course, but where does that leave you for countering such action? Do you ghost them? Do you threaten violence? Do you throw your hands up and see what happens? They all seem untenable when the abuser has the money, the keys, and the connections. How often do you change someone’s mind who doesn’t see reality? I’ve tried… repeatedly… and the conclusion I’ve come to is that that empathy can assure that they feel safe to open up after months of going on their delusional bent. It’s maddening. You can get them help, you can show them tools to cope, you can even gently broach reality when it’s time, but they’re is never a guarantee that they want to change unless something outside of you can trigger that thought process. Sometimes, building that rapport, building that trust, and making boundaries hard lines can trigger that self-reflection a little sooner. That’s the empathetic position. If we extend the analogy to politics, I believe that one side has crossed a hardline that people need to assert more. That line of Democracy and individual liberties and other constitutional and civil agreements. The promise that one vote means one vote has eroded to the point of being widely questioned and outright denied in cases. Trump won this election fair and square, but simultaneously was willing to dismiss these results and fight them if they went another way. In fact, we put up with that mindset in 2020. To me, those not in power needs to separate and assert itself. Their beliefs are valid despite what the newly elected folks would say. Assertion means removing oneself from their old safe confines of “civility” and “politeness” to being unapologetically proud of their empathy and strong in their values. If this leads to a crackdown by those in power, make it loud and clear that they are aggressive and that they are in the wrong. This talk of empathy needs to be the foundation of our approach but it should never advocate for tolerating intolerance especially of oneself. I would love to see WiseCrack’s perspective for action in the face of oppression. TLDR; nice video got me to think deeply about this, needs emphasis on the dynamics of the moment.

[@savevsdeath]

Empathy becomes poison when you take too much of it. Same as anything else. Also, leftists don't have empathy. What you're doing is called solipsism, with a dash of hubris.

[@edwardcrow6385]

Reading through these comments is a solid reminder why empathy division is an ever growing expanse. Once it starts it’s a gap that grows until both sides can no longer fundamentally acknowledge eachother. It’s no surprise that fewer conversations will be had, fewer discourse will be had. Humans will do as they always have and huddle in their corners plotting for the day the other tribe across the pond falls to ruin. We are looking at a very violent future, it’s in these times we must remember. Violence was at one point the natural state of civilizations, the anihlation of neighbors to seize their land and resources. A cycle that repeats if not only the wheel did not distort slightly with each rotation

[@Deathwish44411]

The paranoid-schizoid position resonates deeply with the core struggles of the human psyche-our battle to reconcile opposites within ourselves. From a Jungian lens, this stage represents an unrefined interaction with the Shadow, where the psyche isn’t yet ready to integrate its darker, repressed aspects. Instead, it splits and projects these "bad" parts outward, creating an illusion of separation. Jung would argue that this state, though primitive, is necessary. It sets the stage for the individuation process, where we confront these projections and bring them back into harmony with our whole self. The "good" and "bad" objects Klein describes align with the archetypal struggle of duality-light versus dark, hero versus villain-a universal theme echoed in myths and dreams. The movement from Klein’s paranoid-schizoid position to the depressive position mirrors Jung’s goal of integration: the recognition that the opposites within us, and in others, are parts of a greater whole. To embrace both the idealized and the feared aspects of ourselves is to truly engage with the individuation process. It's only through this acceptance and integration that we move closer to wholeness, stepping beyond the illusions of separation into a richer, more unified experience of life. This is how I see it: the paranoid-schizoid position reflects an early stage in our journey, a stage we revisit when we falter, but one that always offers us the chance to grow by looking inward.

[@EduardoRodriguez-du2vd]

No. Obviously NOT. If the other person's project is to destroy you, that project can only be bad for you. No subtlety or complexity will change the outcome if you allow it. And it is extremely foolish to listen to the good reasons why it is good for you to be destroyed.

[@saint037]

the other side literally thinks like this about your side

[@EduardoRodriguez-du2vd]

@@saint037 To claim that I want to proscribe, prohibit, criminalize, etc. the ideas, personal tastes, sexuality, political positions, religion, lack of religion, etc. of any other group of people is stupid, false, expressed in bad faith, etc.

[@jmanwild87]

​@@EduardoRodriguez-du2vd i mean regardless of what you may actually believe and want that doesn't change that for a lot of the hardcore red voters they see you the same way you see them. And for the more it depends voters they saw Kamala as more of the same stuff that happens under Biden and took Trump's public denouncing of project 2025 at face value. I.e. most of it ain't going to happen and we're hopefully going to get back to what it was like the first time trump was president. It may not be the most sensible position if you know what his economic policies will probably do but it's how they see it.

[@fantuswitt9063]

@@EduardoRodriguez-du2vd Nope its entirely accurate no matter how much you gaslight

[@EduardoRodriguez-du2vd]

@@fantuswitt9063The attempt to deceive makes intentions evident. A developed person must provide their reasons.

[@suloea]

what is the best way for the rich to stay rich? get the poor to fight amongst themselves

[@WisecrackEDU]

Yes - that is one of the things we were trying to get at.

[@aprildawnsunshine4326]

I wonder how the parenting trends of the past 100yrs have impacted this process at a societal level... I know A Lot of people who had insecure and difficult childhoods, especially emotionally, and they seem to fall into one of two camps. Either they're stuck in the depressive state internally and the schizo state externally or vice versa. Myself I can empathize with someone while they're stabbing me, I often say that I have love for everyone no matter the good or bad they've done and only hate ideas, circumstances and bad choices caused by those. However I have a very hard time applying that to myself and I was raised by people with the opposite dynamic. Anybody else notice or have thoughts on this?

[@itami03]

This is like fancy way of someone telling you respect/empathize with a cheating/abusive spouse.

[@FredrickTesla]

This comment section only serves to show why the election happened the way it did. A pretty smart guy made an entire video telling us how to learn from our mistakes and most of these responses amount to "Shut up, we don't make mistakes! We're going to do everything we did before, but even harder, there's no way it can backfire, again!"

[@WisecrackEDU]

Thanks - it's frustrating to see the responses to this involve sorta ignoring the message of the video and then embodying the very type of logic we're talking about. We definitely make mistakes and I can see how this video could've been clearer in some areas but . . . damn.

[@NWPaul72]

​@@WisecrackEDUyou might have had a timing issue on this one, response-wise. Your audience is exhausted and their nerves and spirits are fried. We're just not ready yet to hear that we need to learn from this experience when we've yet to recover from the campaign and the pogroms haven't even started yet. I know, you were trying to make Thanksgiving less painful and fraught, but this might have landed better after the holiday.

[@alexnovacov]

@@WisecrackEDU It's also worth pointing out that the very flow of comments here are simply mapping out the very complexity the video is talking about, as now it is clearly a time in which people would (understandably) oscilate between these two states mentioned. These are Pale Man times. For whatever it's worth, Michael, you should make a multi-disciplinary dictionary of conceptual terms in video format. I could listen to you talk about these things all the way to eternity and back. All the love to y'all at Wisecrack for being such awesome content creators.

[@125loopy]

The response is more similar to _"What about THEIR mistakes?? Why do we ALWAYS have to bend? They enact violence against us, and it's still our job to teach them not to hurt us"_

[@WisecrackEDU]

@@alexnovacov Thanks - appreciate it - and that's not a bad idea. We've been talking about how to do something like that concept explanation thing in a way that wouldn't be boring.

[@BlakeTheDrake]

I've generally tried to keep an open mind, and particularly be open to alternate viewpoints in my circle of friends. If you only surround yourself with people who agree with you, you're just creating a real-life echo-chamber for yourself. I've got one friend who thinks Anarcho-Capitalism is the only way forwards, and another who's a card-carrying member of a Communist Party - and I value them both. On the other hand, the only times I've outright ghosted someone, it was just for being a *bad friend.* Someone who puts you down instead of lifting you up, who laughs at your troubles and tells you it's your own fault when you're just looking for a bit of sympathy, isn't worth calling 'friend'. THAT'S what matters, not whether they agree with all your tastes or political beliefs. That being said, I don't think I've ever counted a Trump-supporter among my friends. I've talked to a few, but it's hard to make any kind of real connection when dealing with someone who genuinely seems to be living in a completely different world - one where up is down, black is white, and Donald Trump is a charismatic genius who'll lead America into a new Golden Age.

[@clobbermiester]

It's been years of extending tolerance and understanding to people who scream at you in return and won't reciprocate a conversation. At this point no more.

[@deadhead4077]

I see wisecrack i watch asap, home sick today so no waiting for a free moment between work and what a great topic and way to frame it

[@WisecrackEDU]

feel better dude!

[@dapperbunch5029]

I love how the thumbnail immediately shows Wisecrack’s politics.

[@DeathsInverse]

Bro we are finished being the bigger person, IT'S NOT WORKING.

[@bigboss9895]

Now there’s a person who stands firm in their values and who they are

[@redgreen2453]

As a dude with a short fuse, who can get heated about anything and then can’t turn it off. Trust me, the other approach doesn’t work either

[@cyclic_infinity]

That's because it's supposed to be an _ethic_ not a _strategy_ . It's a prerequisite for the development of compassionate, inclusive, solidarity-oriented strategy. If "being the bigger person" especially means embracing nuance and complexity in the face of the simplistically ignorant, I don't think that's something you can justify giving up on.

[@Ajv516]

@@redgreen2453exact same issue. Started working on that when I realized I can’t raise a kid behind bulletproof glass.

[@Barten0071]

Left wing Bering a biger persona XDddddd

[@NetrunnerMox77]

I am trying to understand how this isn't nuanced. People blatantly told people in this country that they will sell their morals to anyone for a carton of eggs and cheap gas. People in essence said " i will disregard my morals, scruples and ideals if it means i can receive some monetary and / or material gain. How hard is it to understand why people have dropped people out of their life after this election? The people showed you who they are. The only ones in denial are those who continue to have hope and who want to willingly put their blinders on because of either familial ties or something else. When someone shows you who they are, believe them and act accordingly. I think, in my own personal opinion, i dont owe trump voters, non voters, and throw away voters anything. I dont owe them kindness, niceness, humanity, or grace. When all was said and done, they put my life in financial/physical danger. There is no trust. I dont have any sympathy left.

[@dl2839]

Trump is going to abolish double taxation. That's one of the reasons I voted for Trump.

[@NetrunnerMox77]

@dl2839 no. He is about to give you tariffs, cut overtime and give more tax cuts to corporations. But you believed the con, so go sit in your delusion.

[@jacobtuttle4311]

In this country finances is what keeps your head above water. I'm amazed by how many people chide the other side for making decisions based off perceived financial gains like you don't need money to have the most basic living necessities. I didn't vote for Trump and i don't spend money out of fear I'll need it for something important down the line so i don't incur expenses. Other people have had expenses thrust on to them and a lot more have just made decisions that lead to greater financial costs but those people want what they think is going to be best for them just like everyone else

[@NetrunnerMox77]

@jacobtuttle4311 The people who made decisions based on finances didnt even know what a tariff was and how it affected them. At this point if you dont ridicule them then it is doing them a disservice. Its fine if their actions only affect them but now we all have to suffer for their willful ignorance.

[@YamiDiceMan]

@@jacobtuttle4311 82+ Nobel prize winners and 10+ Nobel prize economist said Kamala was the better candidate for the economy and the working class. Clearly, they aren't that interested in finances if they chose the worse option.

[@ryancole6981]

Im ngl while i might have empathy on an individual level for trump supporters, as a whole idk that i do when their mainline position is genocidal towards myself and my friends

[@mkhud50n]

that's hillarious that you actually believe that.

[@ryancole6981]

@mkhud50n im right.

[@mkhud50n]

@@ryancole6981 you’re easily propagandized.

[@ryancole6981]

@mkhud50n im not, what do you think genocide is?

[@mkhud50n]

@ sure sounds like it. We both know what genocide is because we have dictionaries. What specific group do you believe Trump supporters want to genocide? What are your sources? EVERYBODY has heard the fear mongering from the left about the right. It’s blatant propaganda. Thinking over half the country wants to genocide people is an extreme position. We’ve heard the left call the right deplorable garbage plenty of times. If anything it sure sounds like the left would be more tempted to do that. They think all right wingers are racist, white supremacist, homo/transphobists. That’s stereotyping. Not to mention all of the policies they enact that mirror exactly what genocidal dictators in the past have done. Go talk to a Trump supporter and ask them who they want to genocide. Touch some grass. Get out of your bubble. Maybe you’ll find out what you have been told and believe about over half the country isn’t true and is simply divisive fear mongering for political power.

[@alexandergriffith1825]

This video is great and all but it doesn’t justify why my friends and family voted for an obvious fascist…

[@thezplayer3002]

You'll going to see how Trump is better than Biden for the next 4 years

[@radiobabylon]

man i moved out of the states almost 2 years ago over exactly this. NOT because of trumpers, NOT because of libs, but because god damn i was SO TIRED OF EVERYONE BEING WOUND SO DAMNED TIGHT. over the last 6-8 years i watched my group of friends that have been together for over 30 years come apart, everyone ready to fight everyone at the drop of a hat. it just got so tense, everywhere, all the time that i decided... nope. forget this. i want to move somewhere that people can still talk to each other without looking like they might go berserk and tear someones head off at any moment.

[@Martcapt]

This one came out really well! Good job!

[@AgentMoray]

We're sending you our thoughts and prayers.

[@jstall20]

I mean don’t get me wrong I have a few conservative friends I genuinely like, but overall I view people in that category with mild suspicion at best. Did we all just forget how much republicans were casually ok with people dying during the pandemic with zero remorse?

[@cptkilgore]

Oh sure, just Republicans. Not the thousands of BLM protesters crowding and rioting in the streets in close proximity.

[@wmd13194]

How would you have saved them oh great one from a virus that came from nowhere and had facts that changed every week.

[@fantuswitt9063]

How about leftists willingly dameging the mental health of millions children for a minor amount of covid deaths

[@whitneawonka9264]

Comparing this situation to different music tastes is pretty indefensible to be honest. Truly spoken like someone who won't be affected by most of what happens now.

[@WisecrackEDU]

the music thing was creating a low stakes entryway into the psychoanalytic concept we were exploring. apologies if that sounded like in any way we were saying "racism and fascism are chill and we should just all hold hands."

[@kvanportfleet]

​@@WisecrackEDU I think what they are highlighting is that the comparison's example lacks the weight of the original situation. Which is precisely what causes its outcomes. Because the political divide directly impacts people's well being, sanctity, and safety is also the reason the music taste example is not a good comparison. It only downplays the exact issues that are causing the divide. The OPPOSITE of what an analogy should do.

[@nophone1937]

​@WisecrackEDU that was very much how it sounded.

[@Everest263]

In this same comment section Wisecrack liked, and I quote “It's funny coz that bit you did about the babies and the breast, coz it sounds more like a liberal crying about not having gender neutral bathrooms.” Making fun of trans people whom this administration could be deadly for lets me know just how out of touch this channel is.

[@WisecrackEDU]

@@Everest263 I don't think we liked that comment thinking it was transphobic but will go check it out and will gladly remove that. It's hard sometimes when we're going through hundreds of comments.

[@erinbutler2892]

Biggest differenceis one side belives in the rule of law. The other doesn't.

[@fernandosacchetto5215]

Lots of people here in the comments failing to understand the main point, that writing other people off as inhuman monsters IS THE ENTIRE PROBLEM

[@FizzySplash217]

The dominance submissive mindset was the wrong way to approach reality from the start. No matter what happened to the early humans.

[@Tacom4ster]

Eh I still hate my fascist mom

[@christophercombs7561]

Its more likely that you dont know what a facist is

[@AvgJane19]

You got them!!!! Wait... what was this comment trying to do ?​@@christophercombs7561

[@BrickToughneck]

@@christophercombs7561 They know more than you. They can spell the word correctly.

[@christophercombs7561]

@BrickToughneck they don't and neither do you since nitpicking spelling is all you are here for lol

[@LuisSierra42]

If everyone is fascist, then nobody is

[@kainingyao7873]

One of the most promising things Kamala Harris did in her campaign was how explicitly she encouraged us Americans to stick together and set aside our differences for a better future for America, and move on from the era of division and polarization that has plagued America and its politics for too long, even expressing herself to be willing to take responsibility by accepting others' criticism and listening closely even those who'd disapprove of her, a rhetoric that stands in deep contrast with Trump and MAGA. Even when discouraging others to vote for him, she remains calm and rational, not going out to say offensive things about Trump. It's such a terrible shame that she didn't get to become president and give us a new future together.

[@societyman6591]

Nothing encouraged Americans to stick together like “white dudes for Harris”

[@ChangeIsPossible-420]

Love to see Fanon shouted out here. Dude's "Wretched of the Earth" literally changed my life.

[@tysonasaurus6392]

Christ would have called this paranoid-schizoid mindset a hardening of hearts Also love the Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul clips, been rewatching both of them lately and been seeing a lot of themes and concepts I didn't notice before that I think are helpful to remember in times like these

[@robertshonbrun8753]

We keep being told that it's unfair to think of reactionaries as simply "bad". That nuance is the answer. That's because the people who watch these kinds of videos think this way. I am like that. However, after almost 10 years of trying to empathize and understand the right the right keeps winning. We can't afford all this conscientious nuance. It's time to win or there won't be anything left to take back.

[@drx16111]

We will inherit the ashes of our nations hubris.

[@dustindude4995]

Empathy isn't just about knowing how to get more hugs. Sometimes it can be used to understand that someone can be disabled with a slap on the rear instead of the face.

[@chrisdunker54]

My problem is there is no redeeming value to being a Trumpite and most people don't seem to know what they believe just that they believe.

[@IcouldBewrong-d4v]

A branch of maga is anti war is that not a redeeming quality what about getting poison out of our food like other western countries we should focus on the policies that are good and get them passed and fight the shit ones trump is just a man the laws that get passed are much more important

[@fyrebat404]

why the fk do we have to be the ones who come to terms with trump voters? let them get a taste of it for once. comparisons to dating and techno arent the same as voting for hate

[@dl2839]

You don't have to. Trump is abolishing double taxation so that "other option" is easier to take.

[@franciscopalmabeltran3257]

Why everybody hate each other? For one thing, it is definitely the echo chamber of each other side showing the radical opposites wishing for each other's extermination.

[@dlg5485]

Seriously bad take bro. BIG difference between having mismatched taste in music and being for vs against authoritarianism. That isn't to say liberals don't have huge blind spots that also lead them to ignore things like genocide being committed by Israel, for example. There's enough blame to go around, but my point is simply that supporting terrible behavior, no matter who it is, should NOT be excused in the name of 'getting along'. That's how genocides happen.

[@ilikezepie]

I'm just going to say this cause the video led with it Flint did not go red. Genesee county , the county we're in went red, and by a fairly slim margin

[@dontask3613]

Man that guy saying how can we educate people made me profoundly sad. I feel like we were actually starting to make progress on that front, watching schools and popular media like movies slowly start being climate conscious, teach more about racism, more about different sexual orientations and how it's okay for people to be different and not just okay but it's a GOOD thing... Then about a decade ago we started to see regression and a move away from these things and the villifying of anything and anyone who advocates for them and I hate to say it because I feel like a Debbie downer but it feels like we lost the fight and that the next 2-4 years is going to set us back so much that it breaks my heart.

[@Draconicdeer]

A set back will likely happen but at the end of it all we will bounce back I am confident in it don’t give up all faith. Things will get bad but then I think they will change their minds (sadly only when it effects them). Good luck, I have faith we will do better despite setbacks.

[@Theomite]

He was right and that was the point. Education led more people to critically evaluate values that were based on faith, even non-religious ones. And people started to leave certain ideologies. So the ideologues accused education of indoctrination because "why else would they be abandoning our values unless they were taught to by people who hate us and America?" and people joined in because they didn't want their values to be forgotten or replaced.

[@31it3rsplyer]

So sad seeing 90% of the comments not getting the video through their head. Its not about one side vs the other, its about not understanding the complex systems behind our government; dehumanizing the opposing side and whatever out-group that helps you with the in-group; and maintaining ignorance ON BOTH SIDES. As easy as it is to say MY SIDE GOOD, its not that simple.

[@WisecrackEDU]

^ yes mostly this thank you.

[@DEADEYESTUDIO]

agreed, yeah im not feeling the anger that the other commenters are, maybe i will when i watch the whole video who knows. at the end of the day i dont respect anyone who votes for trump and anyone who is ok with a lot of what he said, but i do understand that not everything is black and white especially when picking a side. its too complex to be simplified like that. each side has its flaws and honestly I feels like most politics are corrupt, left or right. I don't trust anyone of them that much.

[@aaron101889]

I mean, if the other side is Fascism, it's almost guaranteed that whomever is against them is "the good side" it's literally the lowest bar possible. Which makes the timing and framing of this video a bit off

[@Eirkyr]

@@WisecrackEDU What a stupid fucking point if that's really what this video was trying to say.

[@The_king567]

Because he’s wrong there is no system behind the government dehumanizes or anything like that he’s just outwardly wrong. He never states anything to back up any of his ridiculous claims.

[@johnt.mickevich2772]

In an age where all the information is available to everyone all the time, voting for TFG is a choice of willful ignorance that will harm other people. That can't be forgiven.

[@Silver_Rayn]

OMG, I have never heard of this! I need to research more. I have been trying to convince my daughter not to write off everyone who voted for Trump. I told her to set boundaries with some of our MAGA relatives, but others can still be reached. Especially when they see what happens. Some friends & family are just terribly uninformed, didn't believe us, and/or believed their particular media more. We have less than 4 years to lead them out of their echo chambers. We need their votes! I stopped thinking in black & white sometime between 19 & 21 years old. It was gradual, so I don’t know what caused it. I do know that it's easy for me to step back and see a situation from the outside. I sometimes get frustrated when others can't. I don't know how to teach this to my adult daughter. She is getting better at seeing nuances and viewing issues as complex.

[@ptolmy]

It's crazy how many people are watching a video where you basically say "sometimes the paranoid schizoid position is helpful but eventually we need to flip back to the depressive position in order to see nuance, both are important" and then going to the comments to defend their paranoid schizoid position and black and white thinking.

[@WisecrackEDU]

Thank you for this comment. Very confused by the response to this one.

[@ptolmy]

@@WisecrackEDU ❤️ Hey, thanks for another thought provoking video! I love your work.

[@leptonsoup337]

Over-intellectualization... this is reminds me of being bullied in school only to be told to try understand the person that kept assaulting me. Yeah, having an understanding of the fact this asshole had a shitty home life didn't really do much when he decided to sit outside my house with waiting to beat me with a baseball bat for shits and giggles.

[@rockyman2685]

The opposite of a shout out is a call out. The opposite of big ups is big down

[@phimbalance]

This may be my favorite Wisecrack video. Explains so much about what has been mystifying me lately.